I had my routine (bi-weekly) ultrasound to measure my
cervical length today. This morning when I woke up, I noticed a little fluid
leaking that morning. I was a little concerned, and then I was thinking back on
when I last felt the baby kick, and I couldn’t remember it happening within the
last 24 hours (it probably did, I just couldn’t remember WHEN). I was helping
Gracie get breakfast when I got a little concerned from thinking too much, so
while she was in her high chair, I knelt down at the couch and said a little prayer
for comfort. After the prayer, and after I got her down, she came up to me and
asked with a tender little voice: “Mama,
you okay?” I said “Yes punkin’ I’m
okay.” She then said “You hurtin’?” (so sweet!) I said “No, just thinking about
your little brother Preston!” She was so cute! She is such a tender heart and
is really in tune with when I’m not feeling up to par.
I dropped Gracie off with mom who was taking Dad up for a
doctor's appointment at an office near the hospital and then I headed up to the women’s
clinic at the hospital. As the ultrasound technician was doing her scan, she
asked if I had been leaking any fluid. I told her that actually, yes, I had
noticed a little this morning. She notified my midwife, Nicole, who came and checked to see what the fluid might be. The ultrasound tech continued with the scan.
She noticed that my cervix was funneling significantly (even I could see it on
the screen. The first time they noticed funneling, I could really see it
because it wasn’t that noticeable). My cervix length measured less than 1 cm
which was a significant drop in length compared to my ultrasound 2 weeks ago
where it was around 3 cm (which is about where it is supposed to be at 30 weeks
pregnant!). She notified Nicole again. Nicole met with me and told me that they
were going to admit me to Labor and Delivery to do an observation for 24 hours.
During the 24 hours they planned to monitor the fetal heartbeat and my
contractions as well as get me 2 doses of Betamethazone (the steroid to help
mature the baby’s lungs should he arrive earlier than 34 weeks like Gracie
did). It was about then when I realized what this might mean (early labor/bedrest/etc.) and I had a mini-breakdown. My mom had Gracie. Justin was at work (he has been at almost all of my previous ultrasounds and appointments in the past), so just sitting there by myself made me a little more emotional. Thank heavens for amazing midwives and the compassion they have for pregnant mamas! Nicole gave me a big hug and told me that we were going to be okay and that I was in good hands (you just don't get that from every ordinary OBGYN!)
They wheeled me over to L&D, admitted me and got me hooked up to the monitors. The baby’s
heartbeat looked great and the monitor showed that I was indeed contracting
(irregularly, but enough to suspect that
contractions had been causing my cervix to funnel open and shorten).
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| Baby monitor on the top - Contraction monitor on the bottom....Trying to keep the contractions at bay! |
I was given a Betamethazone shot in my hip (1 of 2 shots prescribed).
They also gave me a high blood pressure muscle relaxant med called Nifedipine
which is sometimes used during preterm labor to slow uterine contractions.
Shortly after taking the medicine, my contractions pretty much stopped, which
is good!
Dad finished his appointment at the clinic near the hospital
and so he came over afterwards. Dad and Justin gave me a blessing, which has
helped given me the peace and comfort that I needed! It’s pretty much a waiting
game right now. Nicole just came in and was pleased that there were no
contractions being shown on the monitor. She said that as long as the
contractions stay at bay, I will be discharged tomorrow to go home and be on
strict bedrest (laying horizontal, only getting up to use the restroom). They
will also send me home with a prescription of the Nifedipine to take every 6
hours to keep contractions from coming. I will be on that med until the baby
comes. We hope and pray that he will stay cooking until 34 weeks MINIMUM! The
longer we can keep him in, the better!
It’s interesting, because with Gracie, we
didn’t know anything was happening at an accelerated rate with my cervix,
because we had no need to be concerned (no symptoms, etc. to warrant the need
to do cervical length ultrasounds every 2 weeks like they have been doing with
this pregnancy). However, I am 2 weeks from where I started consistent labor
with Gracie. I started noticeable contractions with Gracie at 32 weeks, was
admitted to the hospital and then delivered at 33 weeks. More than likely, what
is happening right now is what happened during my pregnancy with Gracie, we
were just unaware. I asked Nicole if there was anything that I could have done
to prevent any of this (other than what they have been having me do – weekly
progesterone shots, wearing a maternity belt, laying low and not lifting
things) and she said “not really.” Pretty much, this is how my body does
pregnancy and this is what we get to be aware of with future pregnancies! At
least we kind of have an idea that my body does about the same thing each time,
so the doctors and midwives can anticipate a little bit more in the future.
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| Loving my snuggles from my favorite little person visitor! |
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